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140 


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1.8 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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ails 

du 

»difier 

une 

nage 


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illustrent  la  m^thoda. 


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til,  •''' 


BY     . 


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Ifspe* 


THE 


DISCOVERY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


BY 


f: 


JOHN    CABOT 


yl  FIRST  CHAPTER  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  NORTH 

.     AMERICA. 


Bt     FREDERIC     KIDDER, 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED  FOR  PRIVATE   CIRCULATION. 

187  8. 


I-? 


*o^^. 


F  6  o  6"  ^ 


Read  before  the  Maine  Historical  Society,  at  Bath,  February  17,  1874. 


Reprinted  from  Thb  Nbw  E^o.a.b  H.stohic.i,  akh  Gknbalooic.l  Reoistkk 
for  October,  1878,  by  David  Clapp  &  Son.  «=<""£» 


1:? 


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2 


.^  iT*     ^   ^  !■•    ^      »k       ^.  ^^ 

71 


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1 


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^ 


DISCOVERY  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


rr^IIE  discovery  of  the  Now  World  by  Columbus  in  1492  may  be 
■*-  considered  its  the  greatest  event  of  modern  times  ;  but  to  him 
and  his  associates,  as  well  as  to  all  the  cosmographers  of  his  time, 
it  was  only  a  discovery  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia  and  the  adjacent 
islands.  And  so  Columbus  lived  and  died,  with  but  faint  idea  of 
the  inunense  value  to  the  world  of  what  his  genius  and  enterprise 
had  accomplished.  The  news  of  his  great  discovery  soon  s|)read 
throughout  Europe,  to  the  wonder  of  every  nation  ;  and  to  those 
who  had  refused  to  listen  to  his  plans,  or  had  declined  to  aid 
him  in  carrying  them  out,  it  must  have  brought  feelings  of  bitter 


regret. 


It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  a  jealousy  of  Spain,  which  tluis  sud- 
denly had  become  [xjssessed  of  immense  domains,  should  be  im- 
mediately felt,  particularly  by  Portugal  and  by  Engliind,  each  of 
whom  had  thus  lost  the  opportunity  of  becoming  the  leading  nation 
of  the  world.  This  feeling  undouI)tedly  stimulated  them  to  attempt 
enterprises  which,  a  few  years  earlier,  they  would  not  have  enter- 
tained for  a  moment. 

England  was  not  at  this  period  a  leading  power  in  Europe.  AVith 
a  population  hardly  greater  than  the  London  of  our  day,  it  ranked 
in  commerce  below  Portugal,  and  its  limited  navigation  and  trade 
were  mostly  in  the  hands  of  foreigners. 

Henry  the  Seventh  was  then  t)n  the  throne  ;  and  though  he  I  ad 
listened  to  the  projects  of  Columbus,  he  had  refused  to  aid  in  the 
proposed  voyage  of  discovery.     But  when  he  heard  the  good  for- 


6 


tunc  of  that  navigator,  ho  no  doubt  thought  that  ho  might  still 
profit  by  it,  Bhould  ho  find  hmd  at  the  West,  ulthcnigh  ho  must 
caiiHc  it  to  be  looked  for  in  a  more  northern  direction,  so  as  not  to 
interfere  with  the  claims  of  Spain. 

A*  this  time  there  was  residing  in  the  city  of  Bristol,  John  (>abot, 
as  his  name  has  been  usually  written  in  English,  who  was  probably 
a  native  of  Genoa,  but  who  had  been  naturalized  as  a  citizen  of 
Venice,  then  the  most  considerable  commercial  city  of  the  world. 
He  had  with  him  three  sons  who  had  arrived  at  manhood,  whose 
names  are  mentioned  in  his  first  patent.  John  Cabot  was  undoubt- 
edly a  man  of  education  and  a  lover  of  science,  well  versed  in 
the  geography  and  cosmography  of  those  times,  and  no  doubt  was 
bold  and  enterprising.  Some  of  the  accounts  state  that  he  was 
aided  by  the  king,  but  the  patent  clearly  states  that  it  was  at  his  own 
cost  and  charges  ;  and  so  he  must  have  been  a  man  of  wealth,  which 
he  freely  risked  in  the  cause  of  adventure  and  for  the  glory  of  his 
adopted  country. 

As  he  was  a  native  of  the  same  city  as  Columbus,  and  like  him 
had  sailed  as  a  shipmaster  from  Venice,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  they 
were  acquaintances,  and  had  conferred  together  on  the  subject  of 
maritime  discovery  and  the  idea  of  reaching  India  by  sailing  west- 
ward. 

The  first  certain  intelligence  we  have  of  his  proposed  voyage  is 
the  patent  from  Henry  VIL,  which  is  subjoined.  This  patent  to 
John  Cabot  and  his  sons  was  printed  in  Latin  and  English  by 
Richard  Hakluyt  iu  1582,  in  his  "Divers  Voyages  touching  the 
Discoverie  of  America,"  reprinted  in  1850  as  the  seventh  volume  of 
the  Publications  of  the  Ilakluyt  Society.  The  patent  Avas  also  printed 
in  1711  in  Latin,  in  Kymer's  Fiedera,  vol.  xii.  j .  595.  The  follow- 
ing copy  is  from  the  "  Life  of  Sebastian  Cabot,"  by  J.  F.  Nich- 
oUs,  London,  1869,  pages  24-G  : 

Henry  by  the  grace  of  God  &c.  «&c. 
Be  it  known  to  all  that  wc  have  given  and  granted,  and  by  these  presents 
do  give  and  grant  to  our  well  beloved  John  Cabot,  citizen  of  Venice,  to 
Lewis,  Sebastian  and  Sanctus,  sons  of  the  said  .lohn,  and  to  their  heirs  and 
deputies,  full  and  free  authority,  leave  and  power,  to  sail  to  all  parts,  coun- 


'"yf 


i^ 


tries  and  sciw  of  tho  KaHt,  of  tlie  West,  and  of  the  North,  under  our  ban- 
ners and  ensigns,  witli  live  ships  of  what  burthen  or  quality  soevor  thoy 
bo,  and  as  many  mariners  and  men  a.i  they  will  take  with  them  in  tho 
said  ships,  upon  t/mir  own  proper  cnsis  and  rhiirt/di  to  seek  out,  discover 
aud  find,  wliatsoever  Isles,  Countrios,  Regions  or  Provinces  of  tlie  heathen 
and  infidels,  whatsoever  they  bo,  and  in  whatsoever  part  of  the  world  which 
before  this  time  have  been  unknown  to  all  Christians. 

Wo  have  granted  to  them  and  every  of  them  and  their  deputies,  and  have 
given  them  our  license,  to  set  up  our  banners  and  ensigns,  in  every  village, 
town,  castle,  isle  or  mainland,  of  them  newly  found,  and  that  the  said  Jolm 
and  his  sons  and  their  heirs  mi'  subdue,  occupy  and  possess  all  such 
towns,  cities,  &c.  by  them  found,  which  they  can  subdue,  occu[)y  and  pos- 
sess as  our  vassals  and  lieutenants,  getting  to  us  tho  rule,  title  and  jurisdic- 
tion of  said  villages,  towns,  &c.  Yist  so  that  the  said  John  and  his  sons 
and  their  heirs,  of  all  the  fruits,  profits  and  commodities  growing  from  such 
navigation,  shall  be  bound  and  held  to  pay  us,  in  wares  or  money,  the  jifth 
part  of  the  capital  gain  so  gotten  for  every  voyage,  as  often  as  they  shall  ar- 
rive at  our  port  of  Bristol  (at  which  port  they  shall  bo  obliged  only  to  arrive) 
deducting  all  Jiaimer  of  necessary  costs  and  charges  by  them  made,  we  giv- 
ing and  granting  imto  them  and  their  heirs  and  deputies  that  they  shall  be 
free  from  all  [)ayment8  of  customs  on  all  such  merchandise  as  they  shall 
bring  with  them  from  the  places  so  newly  found.  And  moreover  wo  have 
given  and  granted  to  them  and  their  heirs  and  deputies  that  all  the  firm 
land,  islands,  villages,  towns,  &c.  they  shall  chance  to  find  may  not  without 
license  of  the  said  John  Cabot  and  his  sons,  be  so  frequented  and  visited, 
under  pain  of  losing  their  ships  ai.'d  all  tho  goods  of  them  who  shall  pre- 
sume to  sail  to  the  places  so  found.  Willing  and  commanding  strictly  all 
and  singular  of  our  subjects  as  well  on  land  as  on  sea,  to  give  good  assist- 
ance to  the  said  John  and  his  sons  and  deputies,  and  that  as  well  iu  arm- 
ing and  furnishing  their  ships  and  vessels,  as  in  provision  of  food  and 
buying  victuals  for  their  money,  and  all  other  things,  by  them  to  be  provid- 
ed necessary  for  the  said  navigation,  they  do  give  them  all  their  favors  and 
assistance. 

Witness  myself  at  Westminster  5th  March  in  the  eleventh  year  of  our 
Reign. 

The  eleventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Seventh  began 
August  22,  1495,  an^.  ended  August  21,  1496.  The  date  of  this 
patent  is  therefore  March  5,  1495-6  ;  or  a  little  more  than  a  year 
before  the  expedition  sailed  under  this  grant. 


# 


o 


8 


Early  in  May,  1497,  John  Cabot,  i  the  ship  Matthew,  sailed 
from  Bristol  on  a  voyage  of  discovery,  in  an  attempt  to  reach  India 
by  sailing  towards  the  west,  as  Columbus  had  done  five  years  before. 

Of  the  particulars  of  this  voyage,  the  most  important  that  was 
ever  made  under  the  British  flag,  English  history  gives  no  details. 
That  he  was  accompanied  by  his  son  Sebastian  there  can  be  no 
doubt ;  but  not  another  name  has  been  preserved  as  of  any  person 
serving  in  any  capacity  in  the  ship.  Of  the  course  he  steered  and 
the  consequent  point  of  his  landfall,  a  great  difference  of  opinion 
has  long  existed.  Most  of  the  prominent  geographers  have  stated 
it  to  have  been  some  part  of  Newfoundland,  perhaps  inferring  it 
from  the  name  of  that  island,  or  because  it  would  be  likely  to  be  the 
first  to  be  fallen  in  with  in  such  a  voyage.  Mr.  Biddlc,  in  the 
volume  hereafter  referred  to,  contends  that  it  must  have  been  none 
other  than  an  island  on  the  coast  of  Labrador ;  but  it  is  now  ren- 
dered certain  that  the  first  discovery  of  North  America  was  on  the 
shores  of  the  French  Acadia. 

The  following  extract  is  from  Belknap.  The  account  which  he 
quotes  from  Ilakluyt  has  often  been  printed,  but  it  is  erroneous  in 
many  respects,  as  Cabot  saw  no  inhabitants,  and  but  slight  indi- 
cations of  them.  This  statement  was  probably  mixed  up  with  some 
facts  that  occurred  in  a  subsequent  voyage. 

On  the  24th  of  June,  very  early  in  the  morning,  they  were  surprized 
with  the  sight  of  land  ;  which,  being  the  first  they  had  seen,  they  called  Pri- 
ma Vista.  The  description  of  it  is  given  in  these  words.  "  The  island  which 
lieth  Gill  before  the  land,  he  called  St.  John,  because  it  was  discovered  on  the 
day  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  The  inhabitants  of  this  island  wear  beasts'  skins. 
In  their  wars,  they  use  bows,  arrows,  pikes,  darts,  wooden  clubs,  and  slings. 
The  soil  is  barren  in  some  places  and  yieldeth  little  fruit ;  but  is  full  of 
white  bears  and  stags,  far  greater  thau  ours.  It  yieldeth  plenty  of  fish,  and 
those  very  great,  as  seals  and  salmons.  There  are  soles  above  a  yard  in 
length ;  but  especially  there  is  great  abundance  in  that  kind  of  fish  which 
the  savages  call  Bacalao  (Cod).  In  the  same  island  are  hawks  and 
eagles,  as  black  as  ravens ;  also  partridges.  The  inhabitants  had  great 
plenty  of  copper." 

This  land  is  generally  supposed  to  be  some  part  of  the  island  of  New- 
foundland ;  and  Dr.  Forster  thinks  that  the  name.  Prima  Vista,  was  after- 


wards  changed  to  Bona  Vista,  now  the  northern  cape  of  Trinity  bay,  in 
Latitude  48°  50'.  Peter  Martyr's  account  is,  that  Cabot  called  the  laud 
Bacalaos ;  aud  there  is  a  small  island  off  the  south  cape  of  Trinity  bay, 
which  bears  that  name.  Mr.  Prince,  in  his  Chronology  (citing  Galvauua 
for  authority),  says  that  the  land  discovered  by  Cabot  was  in  latitude  45". 
If  this  were  true,  the  first  discovery  was  made  on  the  peninsula  of  Nova 
Scotia  ;  ^nd  as  they  coasted  the  land  northward,  they  must  have  gone  into 
the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  in  pursuit  of  their  northwest  passage.* 

The  above  extract  from  Dr.  Belknap's  biograpliy  of  Cabot  shows 
that  he  had  studied  the  subject  with  care,  and  arrived  at  conclusions 
which  three  quarters  of  a  century  afterwards  have  been  found  to  be 
correct.  In  the  absence  of  any  definite  account  of  Cabot's  voyages, 
historians  in  Europe  and  this  country  have  turned  their  attention 
to  ascertain  on  what  real  documents  the  history  of  these  voyages 
rests,  and  many  have  been  surprised  to  find  that  there  are  scarcely 
any  contemporaneous  accounts  relative  to  them  in  the  English  ar- 
chives beyond  the  first  and  second  patents  granted  by  Henry  VII. 
And  so  they  have  had  to  pursue  their  inquiries  into  other  countries. 
Tn  this  new  field  they  have  been  more  successful,  particularly  in 
Italy  and  Spain.  Almost  the  only  fact  that  these  searches  have 
brought  from  the  dust  of  the  English  archives  is  a  single  item  from 
the  privy-purse  accounts,  in  the  following  words  :  "  Aug.  10,  1497. 
To  hym  that  found  the  New  Isle,  10/."  This  brief  memorandum 
sho.vs  that  Cabot  had  then  returned,  and  had  received  a  gratuity 
from  the  king,  who  was  more  noted  for  his  parsimony  than  for 
any  other  characteristic.  The  sum  was  then  in  its  purchasing  power 
fully  equal  to  ten  times  that  amount  in  our  day. 

The  following  is  a  letter  procured  for  the  English  Record  Com- 
mission from  Milan  :  v,,„ 

Letter  of  Lorenzo  Pasqualigo  to  his  Brothers  Alvise  and  Francesco. 
The  Venetian,  our  countryman,  who  went  with  a  ship  from  Bristol  in 
quest  of  new  islands,  is  returned,  and  says,  that  700  leagues  hence,  he  dis- 
covered land  in  the  territory  of  the  Grand  Cham.  He  coasted  for  300 
leagues,  and  landed  ;  saw  no  human  beings,  but  he  has  brought  hither  to 
the  king  certain  snares  which  had  been  set  tc  catch  game,  aud  a  needle  for 

«  Belknap's  American  Biography,  vol.  i.  p.  152-3, 


mmmmBm 


making  nets ;  he  also  found  some  felled  trees,  wherefore  he  supposed  there 
were  inhabitants,  and  returned  to  his  ship  in  alarm. 

lie  was  three  months  on  the  voyage ;  and,  on  his  return,  saw  two  islands 
to  starboard,  but  would  not  land,  time  being  precious,  as  he  was  short  of 
provisions.  He  says  that  the  tides  are  slack,  and  do  not  How  as  they  do 
here.     The  King  of  England  is  mnch  pleased  with  this  intelligence. 

The  King  has  promised  that  in  the  spring  our  countryman  shall  have  ten 
ships ;  and,  at  his  request,  has  conceded  to  him  all  the  prisoners,  except 
such  as  are  confined  for  high  treason,  to  man  his  fleet.  The  King  has  also 
given  him  money  wherewioii  to  amuse  himself  till  then  ;  and  he  is  now  at 
Bristol  with  his  wife,  who  is  also  Venetian,  and  with  his  sons.  Ilis  name 
is  Juan  Cabot,  and  he  is  styled  the  great  admiral.  Vast  honor  is  jiaid  him  ; 
he  dresses  in  silk  ;  and  these  English  run  after  him  like  mad  people,  so  that 
he  can  enlist  as  many  of  them  as  he  pleases,  and  a  number  of  our  own 
rogues  besides. 

The  discoverer  of  these  places  planted  on  his  new-found  land  a  large 
cross,  with  one  flag  of  England,  and  one  of  St.  Mark,  by  reason  of  his  being 
a  Venetian,  so  that  our  banner  has  floated  very  far  afield. 

London,  23d  Aug.  1497.* 

Lorenzo  Piisqualigo  was  a  Venetian  merchant  residing  in  London . 
In  this  letter  of  Pasqualigo  we  have  what  will  probably  be  the  host 
account  we  shall  ever  find  of  Cabot's  first  voyage,  and  the  discovery 
of  North  America  about  a  year  before  Columbus  saw  the  new  con- 
tinent, and  the  claim  of  England  to  the  country  has  always  rested 
on  tliis  discovery. 

The  next  question  is  to  ascertain  the  locality  of  Cabot's  Prima 
Vista,  and  of  the  islands  he  afterwards  visited.  Fortunately  for  all 
interested  in  American  history,  we  have  now  the  map  made  by  or 
under  the  direction  of  Sebastian  Cabot  which  had  long  been  missing, 
but  was  a  few  years  since  found  in  a  library  in  Germany.  A  f(tc 
simile  of  this  very  valuable  chart  was  published  by  the  celebrated 
geographer,  M.  Jomard,  at  Paris.  A  section  of  this  map  is  given 
with  this  article.     (See  Map  l.)f     A  reference  to  it  will  show  that 


*  Proceedings  of  tho  American  Antiquarian  Society,  October  21, 1885. 

t  Tliis  section  of  Cahot's  Miipaninmdi  is  pUoto-elcctrotypeil  from  a  larger  section,  wliich 
illustrates  an  article  on  "  Jolin  Cabot's  Voyage  of  1497,"  liy  J.  Carson  Urcvoort,  LL.D., 
in  tho  "  Historical  Magazine"  for  Marcli,  1808.  Mr.  Brevoort  indicates  a  somewliat  simi- 
Jar  route.    When  tliis  paper  was  written,  I  had  not  read  his  article. 


n 


the  maker  of  the  map  has  placed  the  Prima  Vista  near  the  east- 
ern point  of  our  present  ishin;l  of  Cape  Breton,  and  as  tlie  Gut  of 
Canso  had  not  then  been  discovered,  the  island  on  the  map  forms  a 
part  of  our  present  Nova  Scotia. 

As  Sel)astian  Cabot  aocampanicil  his  father,  and  afterwards  was 
noted  for  his  ability  in  projecting;  the  most  famous  charts  of  the  new 
discoveries  of  himself  and  others,  this  map  must  be  considered  to 
possess  a  value  beyond  any  of  the  earliest  charts  of  our  coast. 

The  next  question  to  be  considered  is,  what  coin-se  did  Cabot 
pursue  after  leavin;;  his  Prima  Vista,  and  what  other  land  did  he  see? 
Some  writers  have  stated  that  he  took  a  southern  direction  and 
reached  as  far  south  as  1,he  latitude  of  the  Chesapeake.  To  this 
assertion  we  can  now  state  that  he  could  have  been  absent  from  Eng- 
land only  about  ninety  days,  a  period  so  short  that  a  direct  voyage 
and  return  could  hardly  i)e  accomplished  in  it  by  a  sailing  vessel  in 
our  own  day,  with  all  the  great  improvements  in  ships  and  naviga- 
tion ;  and  so  toward  the  south  he  could  not  have  had  time  for  much 
examination  of  the  coast,  but  nuist  very  soon  have  turned  his  prow 
in  a  homeward  direction.  The  statement  that  he  was  short  of  pro- 
visions must  be  taken  as  only  an  excuse  for  his  not  wishing  to  make 
furtlier  search  on  this  then  barren  and  forbidding  coast ;  for  it  can 
hardly  be  credited  that  any  prudent  commander  would  have  sailed 
on  such  a  voyage  provisioned  for  less  than  six  months.  So  we  nuist 
conclude  that  the  short  period  he  was  absent  nuist  have  been 
occupied  in  going  and  returning,  and  that  he  saw  nothing  of  the 
coast  south  of  his  first  landfalh 

The  letter  of  Pasqualigo  states  that  he  coasted  for  300  leagues, 
and  that  he  "  saw  two  islands  to  starboard,"  that  is,  on  the  right 
hand  side.  Xow  let  us  look  on  the  chart  of  that  part  of  our  coast 
and  see  where  such  a  locality  can  be  found.  Lot  us  sup])ose  that 
he  steered  in  a  northerly  direction,  passed  through  Xorthnrnberland 
Strait,  sighting  the  coast  near  ]\Iiramichi,  and  turned  his  pr«w 
northexsterly,  passing  to  the  north  of  Xewfoimdland  homeward 
throuo-h  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle.  Tiiis  route  is  represented  by  a 
dotted  line  on  map  No.  II.  accompanying  this  paper. 

The  distance  from  Cape  Breton  to  the  farthest  point  of  Newfound- 


12 


land  may  not  much  exceed  two  hundred  leagues,  but  he  may  have 
counted  in  all  the  various  windinjja  which  his  desire  to  see  these 
shores  or  the  headwinds  caused,  and  so  the  direct  distance  would  be 
very  much  increased. 


E.H.1.INC01.N,  BcV 


It  is  likely,  that  after  passing  the  ponit  of  his  Prima  Terra  A'ista, 
he  steered  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  so  as  to  obtain  a  good  view 
of  his  Isle  St.  Juan,  for  he  lays  it  down  (piite  correctly,  and  it  may 
be  that  he  went  round  it,  and  then  falling  in  with  the  Labrador 
shore,  altered  his  course  easterly ;  and  so  he  would  have  made  up 
nearly  his  three  hundred  leagues  before  he  was  out  of  sight  of  the 
mountains  on  the  nortlieasterly  shore  of  Xewfoundland. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Cabot's  map  does  not  lay  down  Newfoundland 
as  one  large  island,  as  it  mainly  is,  but  ratlier  gives  the  outlines  of 
a  group  of  ishuids  which  would  cover  the  spot  where  that  should  be 


'  f 


r-^ 


13 

placed.  To  reconcile  this  apparent  error,  I  have  conversed  with 
persons  who  have  for  a  long  time  navigated  along  these  shores  and 
are  familiar  with  its  appearance,  who  say  that  for  a  considerable 
part  of  the  time  in  the  summer  months  it  is  enveloped  In  a  fopr,  and 
so  only  the  mountains  in  the  interior  and  the  smaller  islands  and 
cliffs  of  the  mainland  are  visible ;  and  a  navigator  at  the  present 
day  who  should  pass  over  the  track  which  Cabot  may  have  taken, 
would  very  often  see  first  these  highlands,  and  if  he  should  sketch 
them  as  they  appeared  day  after  day,  he  would  be  likely  to  make 
them  several  islands  ratiicr  than  a  single  one,  as  we  know  that  New- 
foundland is  of  a  very  irregular  formation. 

By  referring  again  to  the  letter,  it  will  be  seen  tliat  it  states  the 
point  of  discovery  as  seven  hundred  leagues  distant.  This  is  not 
far  from  the  real  distance  from  tlie  Prima  ^'ista  to  the  west  coast 
of  England,  as  shown  in  ovir  latest  charts.  The  island  marked  on 
the  Cabot  map  "I.  del  Juan,"  Ave  readily  recognize  as  the  one  long 
known  as  St.  John,  which  name  it  bore  till  late  in  the  last  century, 
when  it  was  changed  by  the  P2nglish  to  Prince  Edward  Island.* 
So  the  original  name  would  seem  to  verify  the  point  of  discovery. 

AVe  note  one  more  striking  feature  as  described  in  the  letter  of 
i'asqualigo.  It  states  that  "  the  tides  are  slack  and  do  not  flow  as 
here  "  [in  England] .  Now  we  know  that  the  tides  on  the  western 
coast  of  England  are  very  high.  The  admiralty  charts,  lately  pub- 
lished, show  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Bristol  are  the  highest  tides  in 
Europe.  At  King's  Road,  from  which  Cabot  sailed,  the  tide  is  36 
feet,  while  near  there  it  is  still  higher.  'At  Cabot's  Prima  Terra 
Vista  and  the  Isle  St.  John,  the  tides  are  so  much  less  that  they 
would  naturally  attract  the  attention  of  an  enterprising  and  intelli- 
gent navigator  who  should  for  the  first  time  ()l)serve  the  great  differ- 
ence. The  tides  here  arc  only  from  two  and  three  quarters  to  four 
feet ;  and  along  the  coasts  of  Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland  and  Labra- 
dor, they  are  very  small. f 

•  Tlic  name  wiis  clmnRetl  ))>•  lo^islntivc  enactment  in  1799.  It  was  palled  Prince  EUwanl 
Isliinil  in  honor  of  Edward,  Dnlio  of  Kent,  tUtlier  of  tlic  present  queen  of  Enjtland. 

t  The  tides  in  tlie  lUiy  of  Fundy  rire  very  pecniiar.  In  tlie  Bay  of  Minas  they  arc  forty- 
tlircc  feet,  and  alonj;  tlie  whole  of  tlie  upper  part  of  the  b.iy  they  will  average  forty-two 
feet,  occasionally  rising  to  lirty  feet,  the  highest  on  the  shores  of  our  continent;  while  nt 
CniM!  Sahle,  at  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  Hay  of  Fundy,  the  tide  averages  only  ahout  five 
feet,  as  shown  liy  a  recent  survey  hy  Henry  Mitchell,  Esq.,  of  the  United  States  Cwist 
Survey. 


f^ 


■ 


14 


Nothing  in  the  accounts  of  Ctibot's  first  voyage  is  better  fixed  than 
the  date  of  the  first  discovery  of  land,  namely,  on  St.  John's  day, 
which  we  know  is  the  24th  day  of  June.  If  we  allow  him  a  week 
for  his  landings  and  explorations  of  the  new  found  lands  before  pro- 
ceeding on  his  voyage,  and  tlien  note  the  date  of  the  gratuity  given 
him  by  the  king,  August  10,  we  sec  that  he  had  only  forty  days 
to  reach  Bristol  and  make  the  journey  and  jirosent  himself  to  the 
king  at  London  ;  so  that  it  is  nearly  impossible  that  he  should  have 
gone  even  a  day's  sail  to  tiic  southward  of  his  Prima  Vista,  or  taken 
any  other  than  almost  a  direct  course  for  England.  I  have  there- 
fore ventured,  on  a  map  of  the  region  visited,  to  designate  by  a 
dotted  line  what  I  iiave  here  tried  to  exi)laiu  as  the  course  which 
Cabot  probably  took  after  his  first  sight  of  land.  This  course,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  the  only  one  by  wliicJi  in  so  short  a  time  he  could 
reach  England,  and  make  the  account  given  by  the  Venetian  mer- 
chant clear  and  definite. 

The  second  patent,  dated  the  third  of  February,  1498,  is  to  "John 
Kabotto,  Vcnecian,"  the  sons  not  being  mentioned.  It  was  first 
printed  in  1831,  in  Kicliard  Biddle's  "Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot," 
a  somev  hat  remarkable  work,  in  which  the  author  displayed  great 
research.  It  is  evidently  his  desire  to  prove  that  the  principal  honor 
of  the  discovery  of  North  America  belonged  to  the  son,  while  the 
documents  he  brings  forward  show  that  it  certainlv  should  be  award- 
ed  to  the  father.  This  line  of  argument  seems  to  be  very  popidar 
with  English  writers,  who  also  labor  to  prove  that  Sebastian  Cabot 
was  born  in  England,  though  facts  and  probabilities  indicate  the 
reverse. 

It  Would  be  departing  from  the  plan  to  which  I  wish  to  confine 
the  limits  of  this  paper,  to  notice  the  subsequent  voyages  of  the 
Cabots  ;  but  it  may  be  proper  to  give  a  brief  synopsis  of  \\\\:\t  they 
may'  have  done  on  these  shores. 

A  second  voyage  was  undoubtedly  made,  very  likely  in  the  year 
1498,  in  which  Cabot  seems  to  have  attempted  to  find  a  nortiuvest 
ppqangfl  to  Catiiay.  In  it  he  is  said  to  have  reached  the  latitude  of 
67°  30'  N.  ;  and  although  he  saw  an  open  sea  before  him,  he  was 
compelled  tt)  return  by  his  refractory  sailors  ;  anil  that  subsequently. 


:  :.   "  -     15. 

in  this  or  another  voyafre,  he  saileji  as  far  south  as  the  latitude  of 
Cuba. 

33ut  the  history  of  all  the  voyages  of  the  Cabots  is  extremely 
meagre  and  unsatisfactory;  and  as  we  have  only  undertaken  to 
locate  the  point  of  his  first  landfall  and  his  probable  route  till  lie  left 
the  coast,  we  leave  to  future  historians  to  settle  the  details  of  his 
subsequent  career. 

It  seems  strange  that  among  the  numerous  writers  who  have  re- 
corded the  claims  of  England  in  the  field  of  maritime  discovery, 
no  one  has  given  to  the  world  a  thorough  history  of  the  Cabots, 
compiled  from  tlie  materials  which  late  research  has  brought  to 
light,  thus  enabling  us  to  know  more  of  those  rerfarkable  voyages 
that  resulted  in  such  immense  advantage  to  England  and  her 
descendants. 

These  voyages  must  certainly  be  ranked  as  of  value  equal  to 
that  of  Columbus,  which  gave  to  Spain  and  Portugal  domains  ten- 
fold greater  than  their  own. 


